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June 9, 2015

LG Power L22C Tracfone Android Review

Tracfone LG Power Review, Specs and Features

We will continue to share news and updates about the LG Power on this page and be sure to read the comments for more information from users. This review was created by TracfoneReviewer.

Tracfone LG Power Review

The LG Power has just shown up for sale on eBay and brings some impressive new features for Tracfone users to enjoy. We will go over the features and specifications for the LG Power (L22C) and then share our thoughts on this device, as well as compare it with other options available for Tracfone.

For those who might not know, Tracfone is a wireless prepaid service provider that also offers devices to use with their inexpensive service. You can purchase both airtime, and a phone, through Tracfone. You can also Bring Your Own Phone to Tracfone (follow the link to learn more).

Tracfone has been adding more and more Android powered smartphones to use with their prepaid service over the last few years. Each new phone they release is usually a little better or newer than their other options (although this isn't always the case).

The LG Power might be the best phone to come to Tracfone yet, at least it looks that way on paper!

With a 4.5" screen, it shares some similarities with the current pick for Best Tracfone of 2015, the LG Ultimate 2, but it exceeds the Ultimate 2 by including a quad core processor and Android 5.0.

The LG Power (L22C) follows the LG Lucky (L16C) but has a larger screen, and better performance.

Let's go ahead and get into the list of features and specs for the LG Power.

LG Power Features and Specs

This device includes all of the typical features for Tracfone devices, like Voicemail, Caller ID, and no activation fees.

LG Power (L22c) Features List

Android 5.0.1 Lolipop

3G Connectivity using Verizon CDMA Service

WiFi

GPS

Bluetooth 4.1

5 MP camera (autofocus, flash) with VGA front camera

Hearing Aid Compatible

Hands free speaker

Triple Minutes for Life

Access to over 1 Million apps on Google Play

Micro SD card slot up to 32GB

LG Power Specifications List

Size: 5.11" x 2.55" x 0.43"

4.5" Touchscreen (480x854 at 218 dpi)

1.2 Ghz Quad Core Processor

1 GB RAM

8 GB Internal Memory

Battery: 10 Hrs Talk Time, 10 Days Standby, 1900 mAh (removable)

There are many desirable features listed for the LG Power, and the 8GB of internal storage, with a quad-core processor jump out as some of the top features. But let's not forget that the Power also comes with the latest version of Android, which is Lolipop 5.0 at this time.

We are very impressed with this sleek and powerful device, but time to get into what we actually like, and dislike, about the LG L22C in our review.

LG Power Review - L22C from Tracfone

We are going to cover the features we like about this new phone, and then share any negatives later on.What we Like About the LG Power
There are many features to be excited about with the LG Power. We mentioned some of them above already, like the internal storage, processor and OS. We are also happy to see a 5 MP with autofocus, and a nice 4.5" screen.

Front, Side and Back of the LG Power

The LG Power comes with 1 GB of RAM and 8 GB of Internal Memory for storing apps, music, videos, pictures and anything else. Tracfone has notoriously released smartphones with very little internal storage, much to the frustration of customers. The LG Ultimate 2 changed that when it came along with 5GB of space, and now the LG Power has even more at 8GB. While this isn't on par with top-of-the-line devices that have 16 or even 32GB of space, it is a welcomed feature. The Power also has a Micro SD card slot for up to 32GB of extra storage.

For those who want the latest and greatest, the L22C comes with Android 5.0.1, which is currently the latest version of Android. There are plenty of nice new features that Android Lolipop has over past versions, but in our experience, it isn't that big of an upgrade over 4.4, and comes down to personal preference and appearance.

The 5MP camera with flash and autofocus is nothing fancy, but the phone would be lacking if it didn't have it. We would like to see a better camera sometime in the near future, but this one gets the job done just fine.

Finally, the 4.5" IPS touchscreen is a great size, and has slightly better DPI than the LG Ultimate 2. While everyone has their own screen size preference, 4.5" is a nice middle of the road size that isn't too bulky, but still allows for comfortable viewing of movies, pictures, and text.

The LG Power is a great looking phone, and we have found almost all of the features very satisfying. But let's jump into a few things you should be aware of before buying this device.

LG Power Dislikes
There are a few small areas where this phone lacks, and we will highlight them here. The front facing VGA camera, locked to Verizon towers, and no Promo Codes.

This device is great overall, but if we were to try a find something to gripe about, it would be the front facing camera. It will work for a selfie, but don't expect very good quality out of it. We would be more happy if it had closer to 2 MP, but that is really only available on more expensive phones

The LG Power is for use on CDMA service that Tracfone contracts through Verizon. So if you don't have Verizon service in your area, or don't have very good Verizon service, you are out of luck. We hope that Tracfone will release some Android devices for use with GSM networks sometime soon, but no word on when that will occur. Service on Verizon's 3G network is good and adequte speeds for surfing the web on Data.

Lastly, Tracfone Promo Codes won't work on smartphones for getting extra bonus minutes when adding a airtime card. While this is unfortunate, all Tracfone smartphones come with Triple Minutes for Life, and minutes are split into Text, Talk and Data which ends up being a pretty good deal.

Overall we are very excited about the LG Power and can't help but think it is one of the best phones currently available with Tracfone (not including devices you can use with Tracfone BYOP).

We want to compare the Power to some of Tracfone's other devices and see how it matches up.

LG Power Comparison to LG Ultimate, Other Android Devices

Let's get straight to it; the LG Power is on par or better than the LG Ultimate 2. It has better performance and memory than the Alcatel Onetouch Icon Pop, but the Alcatel has a larger screen.

And the LG Power is light-years ahead of the Unimax Maxpatriot, ZTE Valet, Huawei Glory, Samsung Galaxy Centura and the rest of older Android devices from Tracfone.

View our Android Tracfone List where you can quickly compare all of the Smartphones available from Tracfone.

Should I upgrade from the Ultimate 2?
If you currently have the Ultimate 2, and are wondering if you should get the LG Power, we suggest you wait. The Power has a better processor, slightly better screen, a little more memory, and a newer version of Android, but otherwise the two devices are very similar.

Should I upgrade from the LG Optimus Fuel/Samsung Galaxy Stardust/LG Lucky etc.?
If you recently purchased a new Android like the LG Lucky or Samsung Galaxy Stardust, We would recommend you hold onto it if you like the size, otherwise look into buing the L22C. The Power features a screen size that is half to one inch larger than many of Tracfone's older smartphones. It also has better processor, especially compared to phones form a year or more ago. Bottom line, if you aren't having fun with your current phone, then look into upgrading to the LG Power.

Where to Buy the LG Power

The LG Power has been found initially on eBay. Tracfone consistently releases their phones through a variety of different sources. Sometimes they are found exclusively on the Tracfone website, other times they can only be found on other online retailers. We will update this as the Power is available through more sources.

Moto G has a higher resolution screen.Moto G has a higher resolution front facing camera.Moto G does not have a MicroSD slot.

Now if I could just find a Tracfone that has a 720p screen, a decent front facing camera, and a MicroSD slot I would be happy. Unfortunately neither this one nor the Moto G delivers that... Maybe a used Samsung S3...

The LG Power does NOT run the latest version of Android. The newest version is 5.1.1 and the L22c is running 5.0.1. Just saying. It is a better phone than the LG Ultimate 2. The camera is much better. You have to take the photo then look at it to see how good it is.

Just a heads up. I have both the LG Power and Ultimate 2, and the 8GB of internal memory is misleading. With all the same apps loaded I have about the same amount of available space on the internal memory. The Power has 3.41GB of misc. stored, mostly system data, whereas the Ultimate 2 has only 16.23mb of misc. data stored. I assume that it is the android 5.0.1 but I am only guessing.

I buy all my Tracfones off of ebay from Shopcelldeals. They have great prices and occasional special offers, 1 year/1200 minutes included, and fast free shipping. The $79 one is the one I just recieved.

There's actually quite a lot that changed in Android 5.0, it's exciting to see it finally show up on Tracphone's line. The best writeup I've seen of the changes is over at Arstechnica. It's pretty long, eight pages with pictures, but worth reading before spending money on a phone.

FYI... June-16-2015 - Amazon has this from shopcelldeals today for $79.99, plus $5 shipping. I just bought it for $99 two days ago (darn it!) http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00YPSZPIK/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=AUEOHHAEXZDCI

I'm kinda not too crazy about it being somewhat narrower than the screen on the U2, I thought 4.5 was 4.5, but those that have it say it looks more narrow than the screen on the U2., the U2 does have gorilla glass, but the specs are better on this Power. oh well, I'll wait and see what transpires by end of year, maybe Trackphone will surprise us with a relly great phone, (ok not holdin my breath:) )

Short answer is that it certainly should if you have Verizon coverage. Does not show up on Tracfone site but I bought one on eBay and transferred minutes from old Android within minutes. Also I believe there is a link on shopcelldeals eBay listing to check service. I like this phone much better than wife's Ultimate 2.

Got it from Ebay - on sale! Transferred the number and minutes in just a little while. Would have taken less time but I got interrupted - and then messed up and forgot to use the * key when entering the programming code... After a couple false starts, I love it! Thank you for your help. It shows up on my account on the tracfone site, but I don't think they have it for sale there yet.

I really don't use the camera as I have other high quality digital cameras for photos. I think someone had commented that it was better on the Power, but only slightly so. If it has a notification light mine is broke, because it doesn't blink for messages.

Walmart has it in tracfone. That's y I'm checking reviews b4 i buy. It sounds good. Much better than my Samsung Centura. I'm no tech-know geek. But those who do know something say it's good. I think at Walmart it's $79.99.

Just Recently Purchased one of these and I Love it.. except for one quirk which I am sure is not normal.. My Wifi keeps turning itself back on after I shut it off.. I may fight with it for a couple tries in a row or it may stay off for an hour or so.. but it never fails when I check my phone the wifi is back on again. Any ideas what could be causing this? An App? or something I can change in my settings?

I currently have the Alcatel One Touch pop icon, & I really like it, but my main problem is that I can't move apps from internal storage to the SD card like I could with my ZTE valet. Consequently, I am limited in the number of apps that I can put on my Alcatel. So my question is, with lollipop, is it possible to move apps to the SD card. I understand that certain apps can not be moved, the ones that come already installed, but I'm talking about are apps that I purchase or get for free from the Google Play Store. Thanks!

Which generation of the Moto G? Moto G gen 2 and 3(coming out soon) are better with larger screen, more internal memory and better camera. Moto G gen 1 is fairly similar, but can have much more internal memory, no external SD card slot.

Which generation of the Moto G? Moto G gen 2 and 3(coming out soon) are better with larger screen, more internal memory and better camera. Moto G gen 1 is fairly similar, but can have much more internal memory, no external SD card slot.

You would have to root it. Then you could. You could also remove apps that come with it to free more memory. Run some apps that only run on rooted phones. Side load apps that are not on Google Play. But you have to be careful. Some of these apps could really mess you over.

Will not play windows music, have to change all music to .mp3. Now I can listen to all my music on sd card. Similiar to tablet,certain apps can be moved to sd card while others can't. Also can't use fm radio unless you are using wifi and have headphones/earbuds plugged in as antenna.

I bought my LG Power from EVINE LIVE shopping channel since it was on payments with a case, charger and App pack. I've been a Tracfone customer for many years and upgraded from the Samsung Centura. I've used the phone for a couple of weeks and I liked how fast it was! Back facing camera does not have a zoom like the Centura did - but it has a front facing camera at last! 2 nights ago I powered it off and yesterday it would not power back on. Charged it up with the LG charger it came with overnight - today nothing! Took the battery out and then put it back in and held power button for 30 seconds - nothing! Called Tracfone and they will be replacing it when I get the envelope with the broken phone back to them. Have you heard of anybody else having this type of trouble with their LG Power?

There is other 3rd party software that does that well. XCam G3 has all the functions of the one on the LG Ultimate 2 but with a lollipop interface. You can find it here: https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=23991606952611416

Peter, can you tell me how the LG power compares with the moto e? I am looking to by my first Android smartphone? I am familiar with Android on my tablets (nexus 7 and lenovo 10.1"). I like that the LG power is quad core. Resolution is very important to me. Is there a noticable difference between 218 ppi and 256 ppi? I currently have a samsung 390G; do you know if my minutes would transfer to either the lg power or moto e CDMA Android phones? I appreciate any info you or anyone else can give me.

I just activated my new L22C. It came with the one year of service. I transferred over about 800 minutes with about six months left on the old type card of minutes being used for calls, text and web. I'm not a heavy user. Should I wait to load the new card until the old one is used up?

Peter, I received my replacement L22C from Tracfone and so far so good. Does this phone have the capability to scan Q codes? Thanks for your reviews! I've been a Tracfone customer for a loooooong time!

If resolution is a big concern, than the Moto E would be a good choice. However, you could also go for a 3rd Gen Moto G, and add it on BYOP if you were inclined. The LG Power has better features than the Moto E, except for resolution and battery life.

Have you seen this before? I purchased the 22c on Ebay (as you mentioned) and added the $100 card to the phone while transferring over about 400 minutes expiring in January, 2016. The phone and my account showed the minutes, texts and date through 2017. Yesterday I couldn't use the phone as it had no time left on it. My account shows all zeroes, expiring in January 2016. I called Tracfone and was told 1. They have no record of my ever adding the new card and can't do anything about it. 2. They have no idea what happened to my old minutes and I should call back in 72 hours to see if they have an answer. I'm trying to find the most recent card I entered, but don't know if I will. I can't believe their answer to "All my minutes disappeared" is "prove it". But, maybe I should believe that.

Your review is good but obviously you haven't used the phone for any length of time. It's quadcore processor is very, very sluggish. I switched from the Moto E and am very disappointed. The Moto E is twice as fast. The other negative is the battery barely lasts me the full day. I do very little during the day on this phone, but texting maybe 20 times, hitting Facebook 3-4 times and ebay searching. Even on standby this phone will go dead overnight.

I see a lot of comparisons in the comments to the Moto E or G, but the Amazon listing of the phone states that it is GSM only and does not work with CDMA -- just something to keep in mind depending on your locality. CDMA seems to have better coverage and is more popular in USA, according to some articles I read.

The LG Power was great for the first month then the battery really started to drain, even in airplane mode with the mobile data and wifi turned off. It also runs hot in moderate use. Today, the battery went from 100% to 0% in 8 hours and I had it off airplane mode for only an hour. Huge disappointment. Otherwise, this phone was good until this started to happen.....

Battery drains quickly. Today it went from 100% to 0% in 8 hours, and I used it for an hour of social media, no calls, no texts. Very disappointed. I want to like this phone but what good is it if I'm having to constantly charge it?

Peter how is the filing system with an external SD card installed. I have the LG 34c (Fuel) and it has Android 4.4. The filing system on the external SD card in 4.4 is a pain. Trying to write any kind of data on the external SD card isn't possible with the SD card in the phone. Instead I need to take the card out of the phone and make any changes on that card using my computer and then loading it back into the phone.

I was wondering if that has changed with Android 5.0. I've heard some phones handle files on the external SD card with Android 5.0 very smoothly, while other phones with Android 5.0 are almost as clunky as Android 4.4.

This phone does not have a GB of ram that was a lie it has 889 MB that is a big difference. When it come to ram because it always useing 200-400 MB of ram which means you have 400-500 free plus your own app so over all you have about 300MB of ram that's not good!! ITS A WASTE!!

two things, first.. the if the U2 had the android 5.x it would be essentially the same phone as this.. second, trafone is waiting too long IMO to release 4g phones! WTH!!! I was expecting at least ONE 4g smartphone out by now.. to keep limping along on 3g is rediculous. 3g always suffers when towers are congested and you need a (nearly) full signal to get decent data coverage/throughputs (so forget the inside of buildings for that many times it falls back to 1x)

The AOT Icon Pop runs on Android 4.4 KitKat, which removed the ability to run apps from the SD card (for some reason). Google then restored the capability in Android 5.0 Lollipop.

By the way, nothing in tech sits still, least of all development of the Android OS. The inexorable march has brought us Android 6.0.x Marshmallow, which is the current version at least for now. Most of the phones we are talking about are theoretically upgradable to the latest version of the OS, but in order to do so the manufacturers have to issue versions that are tailored to their specific phone models. LG, ZTE, Alcatel, etc. could include our phones in their OS update releases, but given how price-sensitive our end of the market supposedly is and how low our budget phones sit in their product lines, I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for that to happen. It's mildly annoying because we know that they certainly could, but very likely won't, release any OS updates for our phones.

You should be able to check on your phone's current memory usage by going to Settings and then tapping on the Apps setting, which is under the Device section. Slide left twice to get to the "Running" column, which will show you an (ever-changing) total of how much RAM is currently in use and what apps are using it. It is normal for nearly all of it to be in use at any given moment; that's an indication that Android is doing its job. At any given moment most of your phone's RAM is being used for background processes, all done under the control and coordination of the OS. When you launch an app and start needing immediate use of RAM, Android responds by shuffling things around and making room for the new activity. The OS uses nearly every spare byte it can find to perform foreground and background tasks, so even when the phone is idle Android is making full use of the available RAM. That's why you will always see that nearly all of your RAM is being used whenever you check it.

When will LG put out a phone that has some volume to it. I love my LG Ultimate 2 but it has very little volume in the ringer or the ear piece. I have to use the speaker to hear anything and the sound is terrible and tinney. Could you get in touch with LG and see if they would correct this problem with poor sound?

Hello Peter, I just upgraded my LG 39C to the new LG L33L. The new cell is really a nice upgrade. However, I did run into one issue, that is Call Blocker. Android 5.01 seems to handle unwanted callers by sending them off to VM. I tried 6 Call Block apps, including Mr. Number. On the LG 39C - Android 4.0 cell the Mr. Number allowed a choice to either send the unwanted caller to VM or simply terminate, which is what I want to do. I read that Android gets to the incoming number before Mr. Number and therefore only permits sending the unwanted caller to VM. NOT GOOD..

I hear ya, but seems the trackfone people won't see this deal, TF likes ST users more cause they "have to" pay on those 45 buck a month programs, unlike us TF users that buy time when we want to, even though I'd still like to see service time cards ONLY, as I hardly use what I get now in 90 days.

it takes so long for posts to show up here, that by time a good deal shows up from someone its already gone by time the post shows up.

So seems we lost out on that deal, I would have picked one up at that price had it been available to TF.

I was also pretty sure the older 41C's would have been on sale big time like the 34C's were last years black Friday, where I picked up that one for 10 bucks that was selling for regular 30 at the time, but that didn't happen either. Strange cause I'm sure TF will have newer stuff in the next couple months, I'm looking forward to something with the specs of at least a S3 showing up.

Sports fans, www.hsn.com has this as today's special for $99.99. We worth the upgrade as it comes as a bundle with a year's worth of time combined with 1350 min/txts/data, 150 more than a regular bundle!

Here's The Deal, With this phone (LG Power) you will get to keep your number. However, TracFone will most likely activate you with Verizon or sprint. This means that if you don't get good coverage with Verizon in your area then I would suggest going with the LG Sunset. It's the same exact phone except it's a GSM which means it will be activated with either T-Mobile or AT&T. The LG Power is A CDMA phone. If Verizon does have good coverage then I wouldn't worry about it. Either way you get to keep your phone number if you switch over online. Hope this helps.

I went through two Moto g phones within two months and have now two broken phones and approximately $200 wasted money. The screen shatters very easily. This phone was the first phone I've ever had a screen shatter and I've had a lot of phones. I will not ever buy a Motorola phone ever again. The second phone i washed in the washer and of course that one had to be the second generation phone. I take blame for the second one but definitely not the first.

If you don't see the little "microphone" icon down in the bottom right corner of the text screen, may need to download a Talk to text app from the google store. I did that and it works perfectly. Make sure when voice command text to "Jimmy", that you move the cursor down in to the message block, otherwise the voice command will be entered in the address box.

This Phone is good for its price depending on what you're asking out of the phone.This phone is great for YouTube, the web, etc... But using this Phone for almost any type of game is a terrible idea. Considering this Phone really isn't made for HD graphic games like, Mortal Komabat, Fallout Shelter, Nova 6, and so on... But it would probably be better with games if I wasn't lacking the extra 200+MB of ram. Instead of 1GB of ram it has 889 MB, and usually has about 580- 420 of ram free which isn't good at all for games. All of the games I named off farther back in this comment all require 1GB of RAM which can mean two different things. If a game requires 1GB of ram then your phone needs to have 1GB of RAM in total to at least run the game at a playable level. That means it will run about 30fps (Average). Now if you have more then 1GB of RAM and you usually have 1GB of ram free then that means you can play the game in full performance 60fps (best performance). The other thing bad about this Phone is even today April 12, 2016 it still has no software updates. The phone has been out a while and even the newest OS 6.0 Marshmallow software update has been out for a while, and it still has no updates whatsoever. But if you're looking for a phone just for the web, etc... Then the LG Power is a good choice.

I bought the LG Power directly from Tracfone after seeing that it was OK for my zip code. But the phone FAILED to ACTIVATE. I wasted an hour on the phone with Tracfone. They told me to call a special Verizon number, and after another lengthy interlude, Verizon says they DON'T SUPPORT THE LG POWER! HELP!! I want this phone as I'm trying to upgrade from the ZTE Valet - been with Tracfone for years! HELP!

As I subsequently reported in response to DanielC, the price for this phone went down from $49.99 to 19.99 a few days after I bought, and is now MISSING from the TracFone website. Perhaps for the reason I mentioned above - that Verizon says this phone is NOT compatible with their system?? If so, how come nobody else is having trouble? HELP!

It looks like this is the most current phone that tracfone has for my area. I'm currently using the L34C and can't receive or participate in group text messages. Would the l22c be a good upgrade to get group texts? If not, do you have any suggestions? Thanks.

The $129 eBay deal in the review went to $199, then ended March 28.TracFone is now (June 11) offering reconditioned ones for sale to customers with 2G phones, which are being phased out. Do they work with Verizon or not? Appreciate the blog, but wish the original reviews could be updated.

L22C : How do I unlock the following screen "phone unlock to see sensitive". How do I type in password, I do not have any other icons on this locked in screen just Emergency call on bottom of screen keypad will not take 4 digits. Thanks Tom